IS CORNSTARCH A SOLID OR A LIQUID?
-Elena, Carol, Rechenna. Block H

Materials:
Cornstarch (100 grams)
2 Bowls
Tap Water
Measuring Cup
Graduated Cylinder
Food Coloring (try to choose a color that's light)
Variety of tools (rocks, spoon, cooking utencils,a stick... )
Gloves (optional; hands might get dyed by food coloring)
Apron
Amp meter

Procedure 1:
Step 1: Empty 100 grams of Cornstarch into a bowl.
Step 2: Pour water slowly into the corn startch (less than the starch, it should be around 67mL of water)
Step 3: Stir the Cornstarch carefully with a pancake batter with water.
Step 4: Begin mixing the mixture with your hands from top to bottom, until it's even.
Step 5: Test the mixture with your hands and a variety of tools and observe their reactions.
Step 6: Record any observations when using a specific tool!

Hints: 1) try pinching it a few times and hold your hand still for a few seconds

After you play around it, it will start to dry up, you can keep adding a little bit of water till it's moist again (don't add too much water!! it will be too liquid-y)

Procedure 2:
Step 1: Divide the Cornstarch mixture into two parts (equally).
Step 2: Add food coloring to one half.
Step 3: Record any observations
making the mixture
making the mixture
making the mixture
making the mixture
half of mixture with food coloring
half of mixture with food coloring
half of mixture with food coloring
half of mixture with food coloring

end result
end result


EXTRA EXPERIMENT: Electroactive Slime
Materials:
Cornstarch
Vegetable oil
bowl spoon
styrofoam (size doesn't matter)

NOTE: For metric users: 175 mL cornstarch, 475 mL oil
Procedure:
Step 1: Combine cornstarch and vegetable oil together in a bowl
Step 2: Refrigerate the mixture until it its cooled
Step 3: Stir the mixture till it's warm enough to flow
Step 4: Take a block of styrofoam (once again, size doesn't matter) and rub it on hair, or wool for enough charge
Step 5: Pour the mixture towards another bowl, and place the styrofoam 2 inches away from the slime, stretch the mixture (move the styrofoam block around, and pieces may fall off.)
Step 6: Refrigerate and seal the mixture.

EXTRA EXPERIMENT: Borax Goop
Materials:
-borax
-measureing cup
-white glue
-2 bowls
-water
-stirring rod
-teaspoon

Procedure:
Step 1: Measure 50 mL of water and white glue.
Step 2: Mix them together in one bowl
Step 3: Get a table spoon of borax
Step 4: Add 1/2 cup of water
Step 5: Mix the borax and water in the other bowl
Step 6: combine both mixtures together
stirring the two mixtures together
stirring the two mixtures together
groop
groop
playing catch with it
playing catch with it

http://multiples.about.com/cs/familyfun/ht/Goop.htm
http://www.cooks.com/rec/convert/


pictures of Atoms/Molecules of Cornstarch:

Starch.jpg
20009892.JPG

-Rechenna
external image ergocalciferol-image1.JPG
external image molecule.jpg

- carol

external image cesium_iodine.jpg
(Elena-molecule of cornstarch)

Communicating what you learned from your Investigation into Matter reports:
Journal Entries (combined):

Cornstarch:
For our first experiment, adding water to cornstarch, everything worked out fine.
The cornstarch was very fun, because when you look at it, it is liquid form, but when you poke the solution, the whole thing feels solid
observations we made:
1) when i left my finger(s) lightly above the surface of the solution with a little pressure, my finger sinks in, but
when i pulled it out, it feels like the cornstarch is pulling on my finger.
2) i took a bit of the cornstarch in my hand, and i pinched it very fast and when i stopped, the cornstarch flowed like water/liquid!
3) i threw some solution on the table, and it fell like a solid, but slowly went into a puddle form.
4) when you pour the solution into the solution, there are squiggles that form about the surface, but then it combines with the rest, and the surface
is flat again
5) we had some solution on the table, but we just swept it back, it was easy to clean.
6) we refrigerated, and when we took it out, the solution looked like chalk.

electro active slime experiment:
For our second experiment, we added oil into the cornstarch, instead of water.
but the cornstarch came out weirdly.
observations we made:
1) the cornstarch was way too liquid-like.
2) the cornstarch was yellowy
3) we left the solution in the refrigerator for two days, and when we took it out, the solution was still liquid-like, but a little more gooey.

Borax goop experiment:
For our last and final experiment, we didn't used cornstarch. Instead, we used borax, Elmer's Glue and water. We thought this experiment was very similar to cornstarch in a way.
Observations we made:
1) At first, the solution was very liquid-y, so we squeezed the solution with great force and a great amount of water came out where the goop was more of what we expected to turn out.
2) It is very slippery-like just like cornstarch, but the difference is that goop doesn't turn into a liquid when you poke it. It just reacts as a solid as it can be. 3) We bounced the goop a couple of times on a table and it just remained as a ball where it wasn't all over the place, like cornstarch.
4) We came to our senses that borax goop is a solid.
--Rechenna, Elena, Carol.